ALABAMA –  On Thursday, a pastor in Muscle Shoals, Alabama pleaded guilty to 16 counts of sodomy, three counts of sexually abusing a child under 12-years-old, and one count of child pornography. Jeffrey Dale Eddie, also known as “Brother Jeff,” had served as the children’s pastor at Highland Park Baptist Church since 1998. He was first discovered molesting a young boy on January 22, 2014, however, it was not until four days later that church leaders notified police of the abuse, which is a clear violation of Alabama law. READ MORE HERE

DETROIT – “I was in shock. I was outraged and I just assumed kits were being tested,” said actress Mariska Hargitay about the thousands of rape kits in Detroit and across the country that have been left sitting in storage without being processed, allowing rapists to remain free to attack again. And they often do. Hargitay joined Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to announce legislation that will soon be introduced to state lawmakers that is aimed at setting guidelines and deadlines for rape kits tests to be processed. READ MORE HERE

MEDINA — A 23-year-old Wadsworth man pleaded guilty Thursday to filming himself raping a young girl. Charles Mills was charged with raping a child under age 10, two counts of pandering sexual matter involving a minor and tampering with evidence. He also was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor regarding a different child. Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said he was glad his office was able to work out a plea deal because it spares the children from having to testify in court. READ MORE HERE

A Nebraska nanny accused of shaking a 4-month-old baby to death has been convicted during an emotional hearing this week that ended with an embrace between the jurors and the victim’s parents. It took an Omaha jury four hours Tuesday to convict Sarah Cullen of child abuse resulting in death in the February 2013 killing of Ashley and Christopher Bell’s infant son, Cash.  When Cullen was arrested a year ago in connection to Cash Bell’s death, she offered police three different versions of events, none of which was true. READ MORE HERE

CHP issues Amber Alert for 4 Los Angeles-area children abducted by parents

LOS ANGELES —The Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollenbeck division issued an Amber Alert for four young siblings reportedly abducted by their parents. The Department of Child and Family Services had removed the children from their biological parents and placed them in the protective custody of their maternal grandmother. The children’s parents, Rose Chairez, and Enrique Felix, went to Chairez’s mother’s home on Friday despite orders that they were only allowed to see the children during scheduled visitations at DCFS or in the presence of a caseworker. READ MORE HERE

PASCAGOULA — A Moss Point woman will serve 20 years in prison for abusing and torturing her three children in what officials have described as one of Jackson County’s worst cases of child abuse. Stacey Williams, 35, pleaded guilty in February to four charges of aggravated domestic violence, along with three charges of felony child abuse. READ MORE HERE

PHOENIX — A 27-year-old Arizona man charged with fatally stabbing his 12-year-old half brother reportedly told police he “just felt like killing.” Andrew Ward called 911 from a convenience store near the north Phoenix home where Austin Tapia suffered multiple stab wounds late Wednesday, police Sgt. Steve Martos said. Ward told the dispatcher he had stabbed someone, and officers found Ward with blood on his hands and clothing and a knife in a pants pocket, Martos said. Martos said detectives asked Ward why he killed the boy, and Ward said, “Honestly, I just felt like killing.” READ MORE HERE

Phoenix man Andrew Ward, who ‘stabbed half-brother to death’, ‘felt like killing’

Child abuse victim, 4, dies weeks after her stepfather was jailed for ‘using her like a battering ram’

A four-year-old girl who was beaten so severely by her stepfather that she was left with permanent brain damage has died.  Kilah Davenport passed away on Thursday three weeks before her 5th birthday from complications relating to the May 2012 attack by her stepfather, who fractured her skull by ramming her head through a wall after the toddler soiled herself.  Joshua Houser, from Indian Trail, North Carolina, was sentenced last month to between seven and ten years for the brutal attack on Kilah. He was convicted of felony child abuse and inflicting serious bodily harm on Kilah. READ MORE HERE

‘Kidnapped’ 9-year-old girl rescued in the Amazon rain forest 

A nine-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped and held captive for seven months has been rescued from deep in the Amazon rain forest.  The child, from Catalonia, Spain, went missing last August after her parents allowed their 35-year-old Bolivian neighbor, Grover Morales, to take her on holiday.  Police were alerted when the pair could not be contacted several days after they had been expected to land in Bolivia. READ MORE HERE

NEIL STAMMER: Wanted by FBI for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution – Failure to Appear (Criminal Sexual Penetration in the First Degree, Kidnapping, Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor, Bribery of a Witness, Battery)

An arrest warrant was issued for Neil Stammer on May 15, 2000, in New Mexico, for failure to appear for arraignment on multiple charges including criminal sexual penetration and kidnapping. On June 9, 2000, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Neil Stammer by the United States District Court, District of New Mexico, for the charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.   READ MORE HERE – SEE WANTED POSTER

A Fairfield man who allegedly bit off part of the nose of his infant son because the child was crying has been arrested, police said today. Police were called to an apartment on the 1000 block of Alaska Avenue shortly after 8 a.m. after a “hysterical female” called reporting that her baby was bleeding from the nose, according to Sgt. Troy Oviatt. Officers arriving at the apartment found a 1-month-old infant bleeding from the face. READ MORE HERE

Arthur Morgan III  is charged with killing his daughter, Tierra Morgan-Glover, age 2

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A murder trial is scheduled to start Wednesday morning for a New Jersey man charged with tossing his 2-year-old daughter into a creek while still strapped into her car seat in 2011. Arthur Morgan III of Eatontown is accused of weighing down the seat with a tire-changing jack so that it would sink. He is charged with killing his daughter, Tierra Morgan-Glover. READ MORE HERE

MOTHER POISONED 17-MONTH OLD SON WHO HAD DOWNS SYNDROME

A Louisiana mother who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her infant son allegedly told police that she killed the baby, who had Down syndrome, as an act of mercy. Erika Wigstrom, 20, told police that sheinjected Germ-X hand sanitizer into her baby’s feeding tube because she didn’t want him to suffer anymore, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She was arrested Tuesday after allegedly confessing to police. Her 17-month-old son, Lucas Ruiz, who was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect, died from alcohol poisoning Jan. 24. The active ingredient in the hand sanitizer is ethyl alcohol. READ MORE HERE

CHARLOTTE, MI— The 27-year-old Eaton County man charged this week with attempted murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct is accused of raping and trying to strangle a 10-year-old girl, court documents show. Higinio Rivera III, an Iraq War veteran, was arraigned Monday in Eaton County District Court on the charges. A judge set bond at $1 million. READ MORE HERE